Beacon communication system and methods

ABSTRACT

A system and method for providing a communications link between an owner of a lost article and a person that finds the lost article. The method includes detecting at a communication device of the person that finds the lost article, a beaconing signal generated by an electronic beacon device when the communication device is in proximity of the communication device. The beaconing signal is associated with an owner of the electronic beacon device. The communication device may transmit, to a server, location information and identification information inherent within the beaconing signal. The server may return one or more communication options enabling a user of the communication device to contact the owner of the electronic beacon device. Such communication options may comprise, for example, voice communication, video communication or communication via text message. In one embodiment the communication options enable communication to occur while maintaining the anonymity of the owner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/626,882, entitled BEACON COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHODS, filed onFeb. 19, 2015, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/941,972, entitled “BEACONCOMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHODS,” filed Feb. 19, 2014, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Some embodiments described herein relate generally to a system andmethods for a beacon communication system that can be used to track lostor misplaced items, and provide a communications link between the finderof such items and its owner.

Relatives, pets, and other items of importance to individuals can becomelost or misplaced. In some instances, such loss can be of negligibleimportance, such as, for example, the loss of a sweater, an umbrella, apen, etc. In other instances, such loss can have appreciable detrimentalimpacts, such as, for example, the loss of a wallet, a credit card, adriver's license card, a passport, luggage, etc. In yet other instances,such loss can be of critical importance such as, for example, the lossof a pet, a child, an elderly relative with Alzheimer's disease, etc.Even the inability to quickly locate a desired item such as, forexample, a car in a large parking lot, can become a time-consuminginconvenience. Current methods of providing for the safe return of forexample, a lost dog, may include providing a dog tag with the owner'sname and contact information. In some cases, a parent of a lost child,or an owner of a pet or other item may not desire to have his/hercontact information provided to those who may find such lost items orpersons.

Accordingly, a need exists for a system and methods for quick andaccurate location of lost and/or misplaced people, pets, and other itemsof importance while maintaining the anonymity of the owner (or relativein the case of a person) of the item.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, disclosed is a system and method which may provide acommunications link between a person associated with a lost pet, personor item of interest and a person who finds the subject when it becomeslost. A method includes detecting with a communication device such as,for example, a mobile phone, a beaconing signal generated by anelectronic beacon device when the communication device is in proximityof the electronic beacon device. The electronic beacon device can bephysically coupled to the item or to an article or object worn by aperson. The beaconing signal is associated with an owner of theelectronic beacon device. Information inherent within the beaconingsignal (e.g., an ID of the electronic beacon device) may be provided bythe communication device to a server. The server may return one or morecommunication options enabling a user of the communication device tocontact the owner of the electronic beacon device. Such communicationoptions may comprise, for example, voice communication, videocommunication or communication via text message. In one embodiment thecommunication options enable communication to occur while maintainingthe anonymity of the owner.

In another aspect the disclosure relates to a method for beacon-basedcommunication. The method includes detecting, at a communication device,a beaconing signal generated by an electronic beacon device when theelectronic beacon device is in proximity of the communication device.The beaconing signal may be associated with an entity affiliated withthe electronic beacon device. For example, the entity may be an owner ofthe electronic beacon device and the electronic device may be coupled toan article, living creature (e.g., a pet) or person of interest to theowner. The method includes transmitting, from the communication device,location information and identification information inherent within thebeaconing signal. The method further includes receiving, at thecommunication device, one or more communication options or modes throughwhich the entity may be contacted. In one embodiment the communicationoptions do not identify the entity, thereby enabling the entity toremain anonymous to a user of the communication device. Thecommunication device receives user input provided by the user of thecommunication device wherein the user input is in accordance with atleast one of the communication options. The communications device maythen transmit message information for the entity wherein the messageinformation is based upon the user input.

The disclosure further relates to a communication device forfacilitating beacon-based communication. The communication deviceincludes a processor, a user interface and a communication interface incommunication with the processor. A memory coupled to the processorincludes instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to detect a beaconing signal generated by the electronicbeacon device when the electronic beacon device is in proximity of thecommunication device. The beaconing signal will generally be associatedwith an entity affiliated with the electronic beacon device. Theinstructions further cause the processor to transmit locationinformation and identification information inherent within the beaconingsignal and to receive one or more communication options through whichthe entity may be contacted. The communication options will generallynot identify the entity, thereby enabling the entity to remain anonymousto a user of the communication device. In addition, the instructioncause the processor to receive, through the user interface, user inputprovided by the user of the communication device wherein the user inputis in accordance with the at least one of the of the one or morecommunication options. The processor is further configured to causemessage information for the entity to be transmitted through thecommunications interface wherein the message information is based uponthe user input.

The disclosure also pertains to a system for facilitating beacon-basedcommunication. The system includes a processor, a network interface incommunication with the processor, and a memory coupled to the processor.The memory includes an application module and status informationrelating to an electronic beacon device, wherein when executed by theprocessor the application module causes the processor to:

receive, from a communication device which has detected a beaconingsignal transmitted by an electronic device in proximity of thecommunication device, location information and identificationinformation inherent within the beaconing signal wherein the beaconingsignal is associated with an entity affiliated with the electronicbeacon device;

transmit, to the communication device, the status information relatingto the electronic beacon device and one or more communication optionsthrough which the entity may be contacted;

receive, from the communication device, message information comportingwith at least one of the one or more communication options wherein themessage information is based upon user input provided by a user of thecommunication device; and

-   -   send the message information to another communication device        associated with the entity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a beacon communication system,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a beacon communication systemaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a flowchart method for providing communications based on abeacon signal of an electronic beacon device, according to anembodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B collectively provide a flowchart illustrating a methodof receiving a beacon signal and providing a communication based on thebeacon signal, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are each an example screenshot of a graphical userinterface (GUI) of a user application that provides informationassociated with a beacon signal, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system and method for providing a communication based on a beaconsignal received by a mobile communication device is described herein.For example, an electronic device having a beacon mechanism can bephysically coupled to an article or object worn by a person or pet, orcan be physically coupled to an item of interest. The electronic devicecan provide a beacon signal to a communication device (e.g., a mobilephone) when the communication device is within a particular proximity tothe electronic device. For example, the communication device can includea user application provided by an application server. The userapplication can provide communication information to application userssuch that the application user can contact an owner of the electronicdevice when a beacon signal is received by the communication device. Thesystem can provide a method of contacting an owner of electronic device(e.g., beacon) that is associated with, for example, a lost pet orchild, or a lost item or interest, such as, for example, a wallet, carkeys, cell phone, etc. The contact information can be provided withoutrevealing the identity of the owner.

As used in this specification, a user can be, for example, any personthat is using a mobile communication device on which a user applicationis installed and is actively running that can detect the beaconingsignals generated by the electronic device. Such user applications canalso interface with the servers implementing a beacon communicationsystem discussed herein. Moreover, used in this specification, a usermay or may not be the owner of the mobile communication device.

As used in this specification, a module can be, for example, anyassembly and/or set of operatively-coupled electrical componentsassociated with performing a specific function(s), and can include, forexample, a memory, a processor, electrical traces, optical connectors,software (that is stored in memory and/or executing in hardware) and/orthe like.

As used in this specification, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, the term “a communication device” is intended to meana single communication device or a combination of communication devices.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system, according to anembodiment. The system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a network 110, anelectronic device 120, a (mobile) communication device 140 and anenterprise server 160. The network 110 can be any type of network (e.g.,a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtualnetwork, and a telecommunications network) implemented as a wirednetwork and/or a wireless network. As described in further detailherein, in some configurations, for example, the communication device140 can be connected to the enterprise server 160 and/or the electronicdevice 120 via network 110 that can include an intranet, an InternetService Provider (ISP) and the Internet, a cellular network (e.g.,network 110), and/or the like.

The electronic device 120 (also referred to herein as a “beacon”) can bean electronic device with wireless electronic beaconing capability thatcan be attached to an object or article, such as, for example, an objector article that can be worn by a person or pet, such as, for example, abracelet or an identification tag for a pet (e.g., dog tag), or can beattached to an item, such as, for example, a wallet, a keychain, awatch, credit card etc. In some embodiments, the electronic device 120can be fixedly coupled to the item of interest. In other embodiments,the electronic device 120 can be removably coupled to the item ofinterest. In yet other instances, the electronic device 120 can bepermanently attached to a person or pet, such as, for example, as anattachment in subcutaneous implants that is imbedded inside the skin.The electronic device 120 can be powered by, for example, a battery,solar panels, and/or the like. The electronic device 120 can include amemory 122, a processor 124 and a communication interface 130.

The memory 122 can be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), amemory buffer, a hard drive, a database, an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable read-only memory(EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM) and/or so forth. The memory 122 canstore instructions to cause the processor 124 to execute modules,processes and/or functions associated with the electronic device 120 andthe beacon communication system 100. The processor 124 can be a generalpurpose processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), and/or the like. The processor 124 can run and/orexecute applications, modules, processes and/or functions associatedwith the electronic device 120 and/or the beacon communication system100.

The memory 122 includes a beaconing module 126. The beaconing module 126may be a software module executed by processor 124 or, alternatively,may be a hardware or firmware module. The beaconing module 126 canperiodically or substantially periodically generate and/or definebeaconing signals that include information associated with thegeographical location of the electronic device 120, the current statusof the electronic device 120 (e.g., lost, not lost), the originaltransmission strength of the beaconing signal, the protocol used fortransmitting the beaconing signal (e.g., Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, 3G, 4G, 4GLTE), and/or the like. For example, in some instances, the beaconingsignal can be generated and sent every 100 msec to 1 sec. In suchinstances, the beaconing signal can include identifiers that canidentify the electronic device 120 such as, for example, a rotatingcipher code, an internet protocol (IP) address, and/or the like. Inother instances, the beaconing signal can also include identifiers thatcan identify the subject (e.g., a child, a dog, an elderly relative,etc.) of the electronic device. Such identifiers can include, forexample, an owner login, an owner password, an owner identificationnumber (PIN), biometric information (e.g., data associated with afingerprint scan, a retinal scan, etc.) associated with the owner,and/or the like.

The electronic device 120 includes a communication interface 130, toprovide communication with the communication device 140 and/or theenterprise server 160. The communication interface 130 can include oneor multiple wireless port(s). The wireless port(s) in the communicationinterface 130 can send and/or receive data units (e.g., data packets)via a variety of wireless communication protocols such as, for example,a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) protocol, a Bluetooth® protocol, a cellularprotocol (e.g., a third generation mobile telecommunications (3G) or afourth generation mobile telecommunications (4G) protocol), 4G long termevolution (4G LTE) protocol), and/or the like.

The communication device 140 can be any mobile communication device suchas, for example, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA),a standard mobile telephone, a tablet personal computer (PC), and/or soforth. The communication device 140 includes a memory 142, a processor144, and a communication interface 150. The memory 142 can be, forexample, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a hard drive, adatabase, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory(ROM) and/or so forth. The memory 142 can store instructions to causethe processor 144 to execute modules, processes and/or functionsassociated with the communication device 140 and/or the beaconcommunication system 100. The processor 144 can be a general purposeprocessor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP),and/or the like. The processor 144 can run and/or execute applications,modules, processes and/or functions associated with the communicationdevice 140 and/or the beacon communication system 100.

A user application 146 comprises one of the modules stored within thememory 142 and executed by the processor 144. The user application 146can be received via the network 110 from the enterprise server 160.Alternatively, the user application 146 can be a hardware module. Theuser application 146 can cause the processor 144 to execute sub-modules,processes and/or functions associated with, electronic device 120, thecommunication device 140, the enterpriser server 160, and the beaconcommunication system 100. For example, in some instances, the userapplication 146 can process the information contained within beaconingsignals that are received from the electronic device 120. In otherinstances, the user application 146 can send information pertaining tothe beaconing signal to the enterpriser server 160 such as, for example,the strength of the beaconing signal, an electronic device 120identifier, the global position system (GPS) co-ordinates of theelectronic device 120, and/or the like. In yet other instances, the userapplication 146 can process the information contained within analysissignals received from the enterprise server 160 such as, for example,the current status of the electronic device 120, communication optionswith the owner of the electronic device 120, the current location of theelectronic device 120, and/or the like.

The communication device 140 includes a communication interface 150,which can provide communication interfaces with other communicationdevices, the enterprise server 160, etc. The communication interface 150can include one or multiple wireless port(s) and/or wired ports. Thewireless port(s) in the communication interface 150 can send and/orreceive data units (e.g., data packets) via a variety of wirelesscommunication protocols such as, for example, a wireless fidelity(Wi-Fi®) protocol, a Bluetooth® protocol, a cellular protocol (e.g., athird generation mobile telecommunications (3G) or a fourth generationmobile telecommunications (4G) protocol), 4G long term evolution (4GLTE) protocol), and/or the like. In some instances, the wired port(s) inthe communication interface 150 can also send and/or receive data unitsvia implementing a wired connection between the compute device 140 andthe enterprise server 160. In such instances, the wired connections canbe, for example, twisted-pair electrical signaling via electricalcables, fiber-optic signaling via fiber-optic cables, and/or the like.

The enterprise server 160 can be, for example, a web server, anapplication server, a proxy server, a telnet server, a file transferprotocol (FTP) server, a mail server, a list server, a collaborationserver and/or the like. The enterprise server 160 includes a memory 162,a processor 164 and a communication interface 170. The memory 162 canbe, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a harddrive, a database, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory(ROM) and/or so forth. The memory 162 can store instructions to causethe processor 164 to execute modules, processes and/or functionsassociated with the enterprise server 160 and/or the beaconcommunication system 100. The processor 164 can be a general purposeprocessor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP),and/or the like. The processor 164 can run and/or execute applications,modules, processes and/or functions associated with the enterpriseserver 160 and/or the beacon communication system 100.

The memory 162 includes an application distribution module 166 and anapplication module 168. In one embodiment the application distributionmodule 166 is executed by the processor 164 and functions to send userapplication files (e.g., executable files) to different communicationdevices 140 associated with users (e.g., a father, a stay-home mother, acompany employee, etc.) that are authenticated and registered customersof the enterprise. The application distribution module 166 can send theuser application files as, for example, as executable file(s), via thenetwork 110 to the communication device 140 that is registered with avalid user. Such an executable file(s) can then be installed by theprocessor 144 of the communication device 140. In alternateimplementations the application distribution module 166 may comprise adedicated hardware module.

The application module 168 may be executed by processor 164 andfunctions to provide application data to user applications 146 installedon the different (registered) communication devices 140 via the network110. For example, in some instances, the application data provided bythe application module 168 can include the current status of theelectronic device 120, data representing in real-time the communicationprotocols available to the electronic device 120, instructionsassociated with status symbols to be displayed on the graphic userinterface (GUI) of the user application 146, data associated with theelectrical device 120 to be displayed on the GUI of the user application146 (e.g., the name of the subject, a photograph of the subject etc.),and any other information associated with the status of the electronicdevice 120 (e.g., time the electronic device 120 provided a set of GPSco-ordinates, etc.), information to allow the user of the communicationdevice 140 to contact the owner of the electronic device (e.g., beacon)120. In some embodiments, the application module 168 can be located in athird party server distinct from the entity (e.g., company) with whichthe enterprise server 160 is associated.

The enterprise server 160 includes a communication interface 170, whichcan provide communication interfaces with for example, the electronicdevice 120, communication devices 140 and/or other such devices via thecommunications network 110. The communication interface 170 can includeone or multiple wireless port(s) and/or wired ports. The wirelessport(s) in the communication interface 170 can send and/or receive dataunits (e.g., data packets) via a variety of wireless communicationprotocols such as, for example, a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) protocol, aBluetooth® protocol, a cellular protocol (e.g., a third generationmobile telecommunications (3G) or a fourth generation mobiletelecommunications (4G) protocol), 4G long term evolution (4G LTE)protocol), and/or the like. In some instances, the wired port(s) in thecommunication interface 170 can also send and/or receive data units viaimplementing a wired connection with the communication device 140. Insuch instances, the wired connections can be, for example, twisted-pairelectrical signaling via electrical cables, fiber-optic signaling viafiber-optic cables, and/or the like.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a system and method for detecting thelocation of an electronic device (e.g., beacon) and then providing acommunication with the owner of the beacon, according to an embodiment.As shown in FIG. 2A, a beacon communication system 200 can include aserver or servers 260, one or more communication devices 240, one ormore communications devices 245, and one or more electronic devices orbeacons 220 (also referred to as XY Beacon). The electronic device 220,communication devices 240 and 245, and servers 260 can be incommunication with one another via a communications network (e.g.,communications network 110) and can be configured the same as or similarto the electronic device 120, communication device 140 and server 160,respectively, described above. For example, the XY beacon 220 can emit abeaconing signal (e.g., a low energy Bluetooth® signal), continuously,periodically or substantially periodically (e.g., every 100 ms to 1sec). The communications device 240 can include a user application(e.g., XY App) downloaded or otherwise provided by the server 260, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1. The communication device 245 canbe a communications device of the owner of the electronic device 220 andcan also include the XY application.

The XY application can be similar to the user application 146 describedin relation to FIG. 1 and the XY application can be installed andexecuted on any (mobile) communication device such as, for example, alaptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a standard mobiletelephone, a tablet personal computer (PC), and/or so forth. Asdescribed above, the XY beacon 220 can be similar to the electronicdevice 120 and include a beaconing module (not shown) similar tobeaconing module 126 described in FIG. 1. The electronic device 220(i.e., XY beacon) can be located within or physically coupled to anobject or article to be worn by a pet or person (e.g., a bracelet ornecklace, or a dog tag), or physically coupled to an item of interest(e.g., a watch, wallet, credit card, cell phone, etc.), as describedabove. Such an object or article can be, for example, a necklace orbracelet

As shown in FIG. 2B, a method of using the communications system 200includes emitting from the XY beacon 120 a beaconing signal (e.g., a lowenergy Bluetooth® signal) periodically or substantially periodically(e.g., every 100 ms to 1 sec) to the XY application, at step 272.Typical ranges for Bluetooth® signals are approximately 50 meters, thus,the XY application can receive the beaconing signal from the XY beaconwhen the XY application is in close proximity to the XY beacon 220.

In step 274, the XY application on the communication device 240 receivesand processes the beaconing signal. As described above, the XYapplication receives the beaconing signal via a communication interfacesimilar to the communication interface 150 described in FIG. 1.Furthermore, the XY application can process the beaconing signal toextract information such as, for example, a XY beacon identifier, thebeaconing signal strength, and/or the GPS information included in thebeaconing signal.

In step 276, the XY application can send the relevant XY beaconinformation to the XY servers 260. As described above, the XYapplication can send the relevant beaconing information to the XYservers 260, for example, via Wi-Fi®, or a cellular protocol (e.g., 3G,4G, 4G LTE).

In step 278, the XY servers 260 return the status of the XY beacon tothe XY application that can include information associated with one ormore modes of communication between the XY application and thecommunication device 245 associated with the owner of the XY beacon 220.The status of the XY beacon can include, for example, a “lost” status, a“not lost” status, a “contact owner” status, an “owner last seen at aspecific location” status, a “share with group” status, and/or the like.

In step 280, the XY application can present to the communications device240 one or more options for communicating with the owner of the XYbeacon 220 based on the preferences set by the XY beacon owner and thecurrent status of the XY beacon 220. For example, the communicationsoptions can include telephone, video, text, or an XP applicationnotification.

In steps 282 and 284, the user of communication device 240 can contactthe owner of the XY beacon via one of the communications optionsprovided. During such communication, the identity of the owner canremain anonymous. In other words, the owner of the XY beacon can benotified that someone has found the owner's lost subject (e.g., person,pet, or item) via the XY application rather than receiving a messagefrom an unknown caller. For example, the “telephone” or “video”communication option could involve the user of the communications device240 recording, via the XY application, a voice or video message for theXY beacon owner. This voice or video message would then be sent by thecommunications device 240 to the XY servers 260 and thereby madeaccessible to the beacon owner. Alternatively, a user of thecommunication device 240 could input, via the XY application, a messagethat would be provided, via the XY servers 260, to the communicationdevice 245 of the beacon owner as a text message or as a notificationassociated with the XY app on the communication device 245.

With such communication, the identity of the user communication device240 is typically not anonymous. For example, the GPS location of theuser communication device 240, the user's username associated with theXY application, and the message sent by the user are generally allcommunicated to the owner of the XY beacon.

FIGS. 3A and 3B collectively provide a flow chart illustrating a methodfor receiving a beacon signal at a communication device (e.g., 140, 240)from an electronic device (i.e., beacon) (e.g., 120, 220) and relatedanalyses associated with the signal by the server (e.g., 160, 260),according to an embodiment. The method includes receiving a beaconingsignal at, for example, a user application that is installed on a mobilecommunication device (e.g., 140, 240), in step 301. As described above,the beaconing signal can be sent by, for example, an electronic device(e.g., 120, 220) with beaconing capability that can be attached to aperson or pet (via an object worn by the person or pet) and/or an itemof interest (e.g., watch, wallet, cell phone, etc.). The beaconingsignal can contain information such as, for example, identifiersassociated with the electronic device and/or identifiers associated withthe owner(s) of the electronic device.

In step 302, the user application on the communication device makes adetermination whether the beaconing signal strength is strong. Forexample, the determination can be made by examining the beaconing signalamplitude (after noise removal steps) against a pre-determined amplituderange set for the specific environmental conditions in the region of thecommunication device and/or electronic device.

In step 303, if the beaconing signal strength is determined to besufficiently strong, a “hold steady” message can be displayed, forexample, on the GUI of the user communication device.

In step 304, another determination is made by, for example, the userapplication on the user communication device to ascertain if thebeaconing signal strength is sufficiently strong after the passage of apre-determined time period. For example, this maybe desirable because,beaconing signals are typically low magnitude signals and can loosesignal strength very rapidly for a number of reasons such as, forexample, if the electronic device sending the beaconing signal is movingrapidly away from the effective Bluetooth® range.

In step 305, if the determination is made that the beaconing signal issufficiently strong after the passage of the pre-determined time period,the beaconing signal can be analyzed and information contained withinthe beaconing signal can be sent to, for example, an enterprise server(e.g., 160, 260).

In step 306 (see FIG. 3B), signals can be received at the usercommunication device that include information associated with theelectronic device (e.g., 120, 220). As described above, the signals canbe sent by, for example, an enterprise server (e.g., 160, 260). Also asdescribed above, the signals can include information associated with thecurrent status of the electronic device (i.e., beacon), and any otherinformation associated with the mode of communication that can beestablished between, for example, the user of the communication deviceand owner of the electronic device (i.e., beacon).

In step 307, a determination is made by the user application on the usercommunication device to ascertain if the beacon signal informationreceived in step 306 is associated with the a new beacon signal or abeacon signal that has previously been received at the communicationdevice. For example, the determination can be made by matching theelectronic device identifiers with previously received identifiers.

If a determination is made that the beacon signal information receivedin step 306 is new, a signal can be sent to display a “new beaconwizard” message and/or window on, for example, the GUI of the userapplication, in step 308. In such instances, the new beacon wizard canperform a process of pairing between the electronic device (i.e.,beacon) and the communication device. After the pairing is complete, theprocess can move to step 309.

If, however, a determination is made that the beacon signal informationreceived in step 306 is not new (i.e., the communication device haspreviously received the beacon signal from that electronic device), anew determination is made to ascertain whether the current status of,for example, the electronic device is “lost”, in step 309. Such adetermination can be made, for example, by analyzing the contents of thesignal sent by the enterprise server (e.g., the current status of thebeaconing electronic device).

If the determination is made that the current status of the electronicdevice is “lost” as shown in step 309, a determination is made toascertain whether the electronic device generating the beaconing signalis related to the user of the communication device, in step 310. Such adetermination can be made at, for example, the user application byaccessing database records that can relate identifiers of the user ofthe communication device with that of identifiers of owners of theelectronic device.

If the determination is made that the owner of the electronic devicegenerating the beaconing signal is related to or is the same as the userof the communication device, a message can be sent to, for example, theenterprise server to cancel the “lost” status associated with theelectronic device in the enterprise server, in step 311. In such a case,the user of the communication device is in sufficiently closegeographical proximity to the electronic device, and therefore, the itemor subject to which the electronic device is attached to is not lost.This can be followed by step 314, where a message can be sent to, forexample, the GUI of the interface user application to “share view”. Anexample screenshot illustrating the type of information that may bedisplayed is shown in FIG. 4A.

If the determination is made in step 310 that the owner of theelectronic device generating the beaconing signal is not the same as theuser of the communication device, the communication device geographicallocation (e.g., GPS co-ordinates) is sent to the enterprise server, instep 312. The enterprise server can then identify the owner of theelectronic device (i.e., beacon) and provide a contact owner display onthe user application GUI on the communication device, at step 315. Forexample, an example screenshot of such a contact owner display is shownin FIG. 4B.

If, at step 309 a determination is made that the current status of theelectronic device is “not lost”, a determination is made to ascertainwhether the user of the communication device is the owner of theelectronic device generating the beaconing signal at step 313. Such adetermination can be made by the user application by accessing databaserecords that can relate identifiers of the user of the communicationdevice with that of identifiers of owners of the electronic device.

If it is determined at step 313 that the owner of the electronic devicegenerating the beaconing signal is the user of the communication device,in step 314, a message is sent to, for example, the GUI of the userapplication to “share view” as described above.

If it is determined in step 313 that the owner of the electronic devicegenerating the beaconing signal is not the user of the communicationdevice, in step 315, a “contact owner” message can be displayed on theuser application GUI as described above.

As mentioned above, FIG. 4A is a screenshot of the graphic userinterface (GUI) of a user application that shows an example screen thatcan be displayed when the user of a communication device that receives abeacon signal from an electronic device is also the owner of theelectronic device. The screen includes information such as, for example,a photograph of a person, a pet, an object, etc. Additionally, thescreen can also display, for example, information associated withcontact information for the owner such as their name, the current statusof the electronic device, (e.g., “lost” or “not lost”), and any messagesindicating an action item to be undertaken by a user or owner (“sharewith group”).

FIG. 4B is a screenshot of the graphic user interface (GUI) of a userapplication that shows a screen that can be displayed when the beaconingelectronic device is not owned by the user of the communication device.Thus, the item (or person or pet) to which the electronic device iscoupled, is likely lost. The screen can display, for example, aphotograph of a person, a pet, an object, etc. Additionally, the screencan also display information associated with contacting the owner of theelectronic device, such as a telephone number, text, video, email, etc.

Some embodiments described herein relate to a computer storage productwith a non-transitory computer-readable medium (also can be referred toas a non-transitory processor-readable medium) having instructions orcomputer code thereon for performing various computer-implementedoperations. The computer-readable medium (or processor-readable medium)is non-transitory in the sense that it does not include transitorypropagating signals per se (e.g., a propagating electromagnetic wavecarrying information on a transmission medium such as space or a cable).The media and computer code (also can be referred to as code) may bethose designed and constructed for the specific purpose or purposes.Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are notlimited to: magnetic storage media such as hard disks, floppy disks, andmagnetic tape; optical storage media such as Compact Disc/Digital VideoDiscs (CD/DVDs), Compact Disc-Read Only Memories (CD-ROMs), andholographic devices; magneto-optical storage media such as opticaldisks; carrier wave signal processing modules; and hardware devices thatare specially configured to store and execute program code, such asApplication-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable LogicDevices (PLDs), Read-Only Memory (ROM) and Random-Access Memory (RAM)devices.

Examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, micro-code ormicro-instructions, machine instructions, such as produced by acompiler, code used to produce a web service, and files containinghigher-level instructions that are executed by a computer using aninterpreter. For example, embodiments may be implemented usingimperative programming languages (e.g., C, Fortran, etc.), functionalprogramming languages (Haskell, Erlang, etc.), logical programminglanguages (e.g., Prolog), object-oriented programming languages (e.g.,Java, C++, etc.) or other suitable programming languages and/ordevelopment tools. Additional examples of computer code include, but arenot limited to, control signals, encrypted code, and compressed code.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Where methods described above indicate certain eventsoccurring in certain order, the ordering of certain events may bemodified. Additionally, certain of the events may be performedconcurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performedsequentially as described above. Although various modules in thedifferent devices are shown to be located in the processors of thedevice, they can also be located/stored in the memory of the device(e.g., software modules) and can be accessed and executed by theprocessors.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for beacon-based communication,comprising: detecting, at a communication device, a beaconing signalgenerated by an electronic beacon device wherein the beaconing signal isassociated with an entity affiliated with the electronic beacon device;transmitting, from the communication device, identification informationinherent within the beaconing signal; receiving, at the communicationdevice, one or more communication options through which the entity maybe contacted wherein the communication options do not identify theentity, thereby enabling the entity to remain anonymous to a user of thecommunication device; receiving, through a user interface of thecommunication device, user input provided by the user of thecommunication device wherein the user input is in accordance with atleast one of the communication options; and transmitting, from thecommunication device, message information for the entity wherein themessage information is based upon the user input.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein the entity is an owner of the electronic beacon device andwherein the electronic beacon device is coupled to an article ofinterest to the owner.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmittingincludes transmitting the identification information to a server remotefrom the communication device and the receiving includes receiving theone or more communication options from the server.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 further including extracting a rotating cipher from thebeaconing signal wherein the rotating cipher corresponds to theidentification information and identifies the electronic beacon device.5. The method of claim 1 further including transmitting, from thecommunication device, location information wherein the locationinformation includes position information relating to a location of thecommunication device and a signal strength of the beacon signal.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the position information includes GPScoordinates.
 7. The method of claim 1 further including receiving, atthe communications device, status information relating to the electronicbeacon device.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the communicationoptions include at least one of voice message, text message and videomessage.
 9. A communication device for facilitating beacon-basedcommunication, the communication device comprising: a processor; a userinterface; a communication interface in communication with theprocessor; memory coupled to the processor, the memory includinginstructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto: detect a beaconing signal generated by the electronic beacon devicewherein the beaconing signal is associated with an entity affiliatedwith the electronic beacon device; transmit identification informationinherent within the beaconing signal; receive one or more communicationoptions through which the entity may be contacted wherein thecommunication options do not identify the entity, thereby enabling theentity to remain anonymous to a user of the communication device;receive, through the user interface configured to present at least oneof the one or more communication options, user input provided by theuser of the communication device wherein the user input is in accordancewith the at least one of the of the one or more communication options;and transmit message information for the entity wherein the messageinformation is based upon the user input.
 10. The communication deviceof claim 9 wherein the entity is an owner of the electronic beacondevice and wherein the electronic beacon device is coupled to an articleof interest to the owner.
 11. The communication device of claim 9wherein the instructions further include instructions which cause theprocessor to transmit the identification information to a server remotefrom the communication device and to receive the communication optionsfrom the server.
 12. The communication device of claim 9 wherein theinstructions further include instructions which cause the processor toextract a rotating cipher from the beaconing signal wherein the rotatingcipher corresponds to the identification information and identifies theelectronic beacon device.
 13. The communication device of claim 9wherein the instructions further include instructions which cause theprocessor to transmit location information wherein the locationinformation includes position information relating to a location of thecommunication device and a signal strength of the beacon signal.
 14. Thecommunication device of claim 13 wherein the position informationincludes GPS coordinates.
 15. The communication device of claim 9wherein the instructions further include instructions which cause theprocessor to receive status information relating to the electronicbeacon device.
 16. A system for facilitating beacon-based communication,the system comprising: a processor; a network interface in communicationwith the processor; memory coupled to the processor, the memoryincluding an application module and status information relating to anelectronic beacon device, wherein when executed by the processor theapplication module causes the processor to: receive, from acommunication device which has detected a beaconing signal transmittedby an electronic device in proximity of the communication device,identification information inherent within the beaconing signal whereinthe beaconing signal is associated with an entity affiliated with theelectronic beacon device; transmit, to the communication device, thestatus information relating to the electronic beacon device and one ormore communication options through which the entity may be contacted;receive, from the communication device, message information comportingwith at least one of the one or more communication options wherein themessage information is based upon user input provided by a user of thecommunication device; and send the message information to anothercommunication device associated with the entity.
 17. The system of claim16 wherein the entity is an owner of the electronic beacon device andwherein the electronic beacon device is coupled to an article ofinterest to the owner.
 18. The system of claim 16 wherein theapplication module further causes the processor to receive, from thecommunication device, location information including positioninformation relating to a location of the communication device and astrength of the beacon signal.
 19. A method for beacon-basedcommunication, comprising: detecting, at a communication device, abeaconing signal generated by an electronic beacon device wherein thebeaconing signal is associated with an entity affiliated with theelectronic beacon device; transmitting, from the communication device,identification information inherent within the beaconing signal;receiving, at the communication device, one or more communicationoptions through which the entity may be contacted; receiving, through auser interface of the communication device, user input provided by theuser of the communication device wherein the user input is in accordancewith at least one of the communication options; and transmitting, fromthe communication device, message information for the entity wherein themessage information is based upon the user input.